Susan Brownell

Susan Vail Hardy Brownell
Brevard - Susan Vail Hardy Brownell (Sue), 96, died at her residence following a long illness. Survivors include her daughter, Suzanne Hardy Brownell Phillips and husband, Morris, of Carthage, MS; also nieces, great nieces and nephews by marriage. Susan was preceded in death by her husband, George G. Brownell Jr. after seventy-two years of marriage, and by her parents, Wilson M. and Ida T. Hardy of Rome, Georgia.

Susan grew up in Rome. While attending the Rome High School, she was a literary contestant on The Rome High Debaters Team. Following graduation, she attended two years at Shorter College, also in Rome, before transferring to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. There she became a member of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority. While attending Duke she earned a Bachelors degree in social work.

Following graduation from Duke, and during a Brownell Tour of Europe, Italy at the time, Susan suffered an appendicitis attack. One of the tour leaders escorted her by train to Paris where George, the only representative of Brownell Tours there, met her and took her to the American Hospital. They soon began dating, and were married at the Presbyterian Church in Rome, GA six months later.

Her career history included several years at Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa during World War II. During this time she shared an apartment with young daughter Suzanne while husband, George, served in the US Navy. Upon George's return from the War, family and travel business relocated to Birmingham, AL. Despite the move, Susan enrolled in graduate school at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. She commuted to classes long enough to achieve a Masters degree in clinical psychology. This helped her career. In Birmingham, Sue worked for a counseling agency as a Marriage and Family Counselor, followed by a position as Counselor for a private psychiatric group.

Other activities enjoyed by Sue included serving as President of the Parent Teacher's Association (P.T.A.) at the daughter's grammar school, and active membership in the Birmingham Junior League. Later, she was elected, and served as President of sustaining members of the Birmingham Junior League. She was also a member of the Garden Club in Birmingham.

She and George were among the founders of the Unitarian Church in Birmingham, and the Unitarian/Universalist Church of Transylvania County, (UUTC) located in Brevard, North Carolina. She served early on, as Sunday school teacher, and as Religious Education Director for the Church in Birmingham. Sue, sometimes with George, led communication groups and T groups during the years when such activities were popular. They were members of a square dancing club. Both of them enjoyed hiking.


It was important to Sue and George to help couples achieve better marital relationships through improved communication skills. Thus they pursued Leadership Training with a group known as the Association for Couples in Marriage Enrichment (ACME), now simply known as Better Marriages, and they became known as a Certified Leader Couple. They helped couples in many small groups learn, through their demonstrations and voluntary couple participation, skills that help when discussing sensitive subjects with their spouses. Some of these groups chose to continue meeting once a month for several years.

Sue traveled extensively with George, third generation President and owner of Brownell Tours. She liked helping him rate the quality of rooms, food, service and sight seeing opportunities in the countries that they visited.


Upon retirement, Sue and George moved to Brevard, North Carolina. Sue began doing oil paintings, a few of which have been on display along with the art work of other College Walk artists. George enjoyed making wooden frames for her paintings. Sue and George moved to College Walk in 1990.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Saturday, February 12, 2011 at 2:00 PM in the College Walk Auditorium in Brevard, NC. A reception will be held immediately following the service, also in the auditorium.

In lieu of flower, and the memory of Susan Vail Hardy Brownell, memorial donations may be made to the Unitarian/universalist Church of Transylvania County, 24 Varsity Street, Brevard, NC 28712 or to Better Marriages, PO Box 21374, Winston-Salem, NC 27120.

To leave a condolence for the Brownell family, please visit "obituaries" at www.moore-fh.com .

Moore Funeral Home is caring for the family.